Semester is already done?!

Well, this is it... the final stretch! Its been fun speaking to all of you through this blog. Is anyone taking the classroom management class this spring?

Portfolios

Hey everyone! I just wanted to check how everyone is doing with their portfolios. I finally got most of my pages to load after a couple headaches. I am still having difficulties with two pictures though. Thought maybe we could troubleshoot together and share ideas. I hope all is going well. :)

Great Inquiry Site for Chemistry

Hi all,
I just found an amazing site (to help me teach chemistry..it's been awhile since I thought about ionic and covalent bonds) that you MUST check out!
American Chemistry Society Inquiry In Action There are SO MANY ideas and the plans are so clear!

Cooperative Learning Group-Rubric

Here is a rubric to use for a cooperative learning assessment from the Read Write Think website.
I find that my students are very reflectiveand honest in group self-assessment. It becomes a learning experience in and of itself and helps them strengthen these skills.

Assessing Quality

I think it is important to send students a message that they need to produce quality work. I have students balk at adding color to sketches and graphic organizers. They are even reluctant to use a ruler and are satisfied in turning in sloppy work! While I don't want to grade these type of skills, necessarily, they are important in producing quality work. If students don't lose points, what holds them accountable? During the second half of the year, I do take points off for common spelling and punctuation errors. It's not enough points to significantly affect their content grade, but it does get their attention. Students should be learning to communicate effectively and that includes writing carefully. I think it is important also to assess quality thinking, as reflected in thoughtful journal writing. My students write in a science journal to start each class. I grade them twice a quarter or sometimes a certain significant entry gets graded against a very simple rubric (4, 3, 2, 1) that emphasizes thinking skills.

Standardized Testing

As public schools employees, we really have no say in whether or not we give our students the SOL exams. Some schools even mandate standardized unit exams. I've provided some resources for you to start the discussion about how we assess our students, and I given some pointers on how to make good multiple choice tests. However, for this unit, we will actually spend more time talking about alternative assessments (formative and summative). Additionally, I'd like to see a discussion about WHAT we assess. Your first response might be "duh! SOLs!", but is that really true? If a student doesn't turn in homework - what are you assessing? Their knowledge of the SOL? Or their work ethic? Or their ability to have a supportive home life? Do you ever use grades as a punishment? (you give a zero if you have to remove them from lab?) Obviously, our roles as educators involves shaping the entire person to help them become good citizens - but in doing so, how do you let this reflect in their grades? Give us a breakdown of your grades and reflect on what it REALLY represents? (do you grade for completion? Or accuracy? ) I had a teacher next door at my last high school that was a Lab Notebook Nazi (pardon the term). If students didn't number the pages correctly or put the headings in exactly as she instructed, they lost significant points. I just always wondered what it was she was assessing with that and whether as a science teacher, that was an appropriate course of action. What are your thoughts?

Cool alternative type activities

This site has some interesting ideas on how to mix up what you're doing in class. It has some examples of Web Quests, Problem Based Learning (I have a cool one on Cholera if anyone is interested), case studies... etc.

http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/support/strategy.html

Global warming

I found this awesome lesson plan on global warming... check it out!


http://www.pbs.org/now/classroom/global-warming-lesson-plan.pdf

Issues about Energy

I just found an interesting lesson in which students study the advantages/disadvantages of different energy source in a debate format
http://www.need.org/needpdf/Great%20Energy%20Debate%20Game.pdf

The Evolution Solution

A great article by Larry Flammer- Teaching Evolution without Conflict
http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/evo.sol.pdf
Here is an excerpt:
“We didn’t come from monkeys.” “Why
don’t we learn about creation and evolution, so we can
make up our own minds; isn’t that more fair?”
If such questions cause you to minimize or avoid evolution
in your curriculum, maybe you should consider a
different approach. Evolution is clearly a well-documented
process that informs all of biology and its many applications.
It is a disservice to students to teach biology without
an accurate and comprehensive treatment of evolution.
Surveys reveal that many in our society have an inadequate
and inaccurate understanding of evolution (Alters &
Alters, 2001). Much of this can be traced directly to popular
misconceptions about the nature of science. This, in
turn, can be linked to misrepresentation by those opposed
to evolution, although inadequate or ineffective treatment
by ill prepared teachers can also be a contributing factor.
Teachers must do all they can to correct this; otherwise we
all lose many of the potential benefits that can come from
a more scientifically literate society.

Science and Evolution

Dr. P shared this site when we studied the Nature of Science. It is hands down the best site for planning to teach what science is, what science does, etc. BEFORE teaching about evolution.
It is ENSI-the Evolution and Nature of Science Institute. It contains so many ideas and lessons.
http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/info.fs.html

Local Issues

Getting the kids involved in understanding local issues is not only a great way to develop their critical thinking skills, but also to make the content meaningful and relevant. For the past several years, a controversy has surrounded whether or not to introduce the Asian oyster into the Chesapeake Bay. Since the Bay ecosystem is right in their backyard, this was an engaging issue. It also tied in with SOL's on invasive species and human impacts in the ecosystem.
A current issue is placing wind turbines off the coast. With Virginia Beach as a tourist destination and home to a naval air base, there are many issues to discuss on this topic. I have not used socratic seminar before but this may be an opportunity to use it.

Case Studies

Hey everyone. I use case studies in my classroom whenever I can. They students really seem to get involved with them. Some of them are "issue" topics that maybe you would like to integrate in your class. Many of them are written for undergraduate level but could be tailored to high school or even middle school.
Here's the website:
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/ubcase.htm#teaching

Hope you enjoy

Stacy

Issues

In my old school, it was always very difficult to teach evolution. I know that it is a scientific fact, but at times students could not reconcile evolution with their own beliefs. Has anyone else had students who simply would not accept learning about evolution or believed that you (as the teacher) were going against their beliefs? How did you handle it?
On other topics such as stem-cell research the students really enjoyed the discussion and arguing for one side. Overall, I think that discussion of these issues enhances student learning because it forces them to think critically about a subject. I also think students enjoying connecting the science to an actual topic which appears in media.

The Happy Scientist site

Here is the link...I had a space in the original one....sorry!

http://www.thehappyscientist.com/

Experiment of the Week

I found this site ...if you sign up you can get an experiment of the week...some could be used as discrepant events. Check out his video on boiling water..I never thought about explaining boiling water this way!
The Happy Scientist

Modifying Labs to be Open Inquiry

Here is a very interesting article on gradual ways to make labs (and students!) open to inquiry

Impediments to Inquiry

Large class size is such a challenge in doing inquiry in the classroom. I find that I need to be a facillitator at my 7 teams (4 students each on average) to keep the kids' focus and energy while they are exploring. In my inclusion class I have a special ed teacher as well, so that helps. My middle schoolers (I teach 7th and 8th) easily get off track. Last week we were using microscopes and looking at cells (they made wet mounts of red onion and stained cheek cells, and at another station we had some pond water) and I didn't tell them what they would see...I wanted them to discover for themselves. Some kids loved it but others were easily frustrated because they didn't know what they were "supposed to see". By the end of the class I was literally dizzy from looking in so many scopes and responding to so many "OH! MS. KUBE! LOOK AT THIS! (Leeuwenhoek would've been proud) This was a very different approach than what I used to do because after going over cell theory, I would sketch basic cells (shape) and then do the scope investigations. I know many teachers who bypass the microscope investigations in their large classes because it can be very hectic. They just go over the parts of a microscope, set up one as a demo, and it's on to cell organelles. Not surprising that the kids don't get excited about biology!

True Inquiry

I feel pressured sometimes to cover the content and then do an "inquiry" lab activity. True inquiry should be FIRST, so the students can discover for themselves. An inquiry lab or activity shouldn't merely confirm what students already know. I really liked the you tube videos ...they were so inquiry based. Showing the demo and then asking why, what is happening, I wonder,....and letting the students come up with possible explanations. The greatest learning through inquiry happens because a student's curiosity and interest is piqued. As a teacher, I can also ascertain what students already know or what misconceptions they may have based on their responses.

Discrepant Events

I found this wonderful resource for Discrepant Events that I wanted to
share with all of you.  It has an activity or demonstration for a TON of subjects.  Hope you are inspired!

http://www.fcl.org/edoc_resources/DocGizmo.pdf

Inquiry

After listening to the powerpoint and reading the articles posted for the E lessons, I see the importance of inquiry based learning. I like the 5E plan best, and it may because I am more familiar and comfortable with it. I have to admit though, I sometimes start my lessons with notes when I start a new topic. Some of the Earth Science topics that I cover I just can't always think of something neat or catchy to do in the beginning that would allow them to do a lab first and talk about it. Some things I can- like when we talk about heat energy and different surfaces absorb and some reflect. I start with a lab where we use heat lamps and take the temperatures of the three colored cans and see what we find. Then they explain to me why the recorded the results that they have. This then leads to my notes. Does anyone else ever have trouble thinking of things to catch their kids with? I don't feel like my notes are too dry when I do them either because i usually have a section where we discuss or I show them something and we talk about what is happening and why, but I guess notes are notes! ;)

PS- Does anyone else feel like we have been in school teaching for at least a 9weeks already? Busy time of year! I'm already tired! haha

Tagging Butterflies

Hi everyone,
The butterfly society of VA hosted a butterfly festival at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research & Extension Center (VT). I saw monarchs being tagged and released for their migration to Mexico. It was awesome. Check out the Monarch Watch site. My butterfly is tag #MNT 244. I couldn't help but thinking about the nature of science!

Science is Real YOUTUBE

If you haven't seen this, check it out! I put it in my powerpoint. These guys are talented!
Science is Real This is a perfect video for the Nature of Science. Enjoy!

Nature of Science PPT

Hi everyone...
Of course I procrastinated all week and am now working on my ppt. I'm not sure how long it should be! I am trying to limit to 15 slide (I teach middle school...that's probably too many!) What do you all think?

Powerpoint and part of portfolio

Hello everyone! I hope things are going well. I just wanted to see how everyone was doing with their coursework and/or teaching. I'm in a very different environment this year co-teaching so it's a new experience for me. I've been working on my powerpoint and was just wondering how many slides you guys have. I was thinking for 15-20 but I'm not sure yet. I have also been fiddling with my e-portfolio. Only the first three pages are working... I need to work out the kinks for the national science standards page which links to all of the standards. If you're interested here it is:
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/stacyjh/Web/Welcome.html


Also if you have any ideas about why it's not working right feel free to share too :)
Thanks
Stacy

What is a hypothesis?

So often our students are taught that a hypothesis is an "educated guess". I must admit that I have taught that (ugh!) In the ppt, I reflected upon Dr. P's comment that "guess" undermines the research and thought that goes into constructing a hypothesis. I really have to rethink how I explain "hypothesis"! I will retool my teaching so that I explain that a hypothesis is a testable possible explanation and not a guess at all! Today my students did a "thumb wrestling" lab but before they could formulate a hypothesis, we collected alot of data (29 students): thumb length, thums circumference, and wrist circumference. Armed with that data and discussion, each team had to come up with a hypothesis using variables that might affect the outcome of thumb wrestling competitions! This was good practice to show how much work/research is done BEFORE making a hypothesis.

Nature of Science-Challenging Stereotypes

I do a lesson at the start of the year to reveal stereotypes/ideas students may have about scientists and what scientists do. They each draw a picture of a scientist. You can imagine that many are male, have wild hair and glasses, lab coats, and often look like they are blowing something up in a lab! I do believe that the general publics' perception of scientists and what science is is biased. I see more students today drawing pictures of females and regular looking people than 5 years ago, but the stereotypes persist.
The site on Nature of Science lessons is excellent...I just printed one out called Checks lab that I might tryhttp://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/natsc.fs.html

Scientific World View

In reading the 2061 document, I was interested in the idea that studying science as a way of knowing must be very explicit in the curriculum. It is challenging to weave the different aspects of science togethr into a whole. People need a sense of how science works, along with the laws, concepts, theories, to appreciate the role of science in their life (and the importance of science in society).

The Nature of Science

Hi everyone! Today was the kids first day back...they came in drenched after waiting for their buses in a downpour! The most exciting part of teaching is immersing kids in the process of science. I started today with a discussion and activities on making observations. We then differentiate between observations and inferences. There is a great little activity called Are You FBI Material? You place 10-15 items on tray, allow the students about 15 seconds to look, then see how many items they can recall (they jot them down and compare). They remember by color, size, texture, etc.; then, after they compare, they see the value of collaborating as a team because of the unique ways each individual makes observations. If I can't find the web site where I got the idea, I will upload the document later this week.

Here is the article:
http://www.adlit.org/article/22212

Great Article

I found this article at adolescent literacy.org (a great site). It discusses using multimedia tools to help students think like scientists (literacy!).

Scientific Process

One of the points made in the NSF 2004 article was that 75% of Americans do NOT understand the scientific process. This is so disturbing to me as a science educator! The sci. process is such an important problem solving methodology...used over and over again to find answers/solutions to problems that affect EVERY citizen! In our curricula we don't spend enough time integrating PROCESS throughout the many content units; sometimes, teachers only cover sci. method as a stand alone topic, or when science fair rolls around. We need to continually address how scientists approach problems, and help students understand that experimental design leads to new info, and that process is never ending.

Journaling for Scientific Literacy

I use science journals in my class and I believe this daily opportunity for students to reflect/write/sketch in a meaningful way really promotes literacy. When my students come in the classroom, they pick up their journals (they NEVER leave the room!) and respond to a journal prompt on the board. I try to use creative prompts (I sometimes make them up on the way to school) such as, "would you rather be a dolphin or an eagle..why?" or "What does water quality mean to you?" or "If a snowflake could talk, what would it say as it falls to Earth?" Sometimes the prompts are very content specific, but they are often open-ended questions to which there are many responses.
I also bring in many news articles from the paper to read and discuss in class. Middle schoolers especially need to know, Why should I care about this?

Scientific Literacy

Well after reading those articles on what is meant by scientific literacy and statistics known, I was surprised at the stats and then again I wasn't. I mean, this is my fifth year teaching and I have seen where the students are in two different counties of Virginia and I can see there is definitely a problem there. It makes me sad to see that we are going to have young people of tomorrow's future not being able to make sense out of science articles and concepts. I look at the standards that we are given to teach and ready our students and I don't see where they are all that bad- of course there is ALWAYS room for improvement. The problem that I see mainly is the way that we are determining if a child does in fact get the concept. I don't think a multiple choice test is an accurate depiction of this. Does anyone else agree? I think there needs to be another system of clarification. A way where they need to communicate information about scientific concepts they learned in that school year. I also think there needs to be more emphasis in the science classroom on vocabulary and comprehension. I cannot tell you how many times, and I'm sure you've heard it too, that I have heard a science teacher say that they don't teach english so they shouldn't have to do things like this. We all need to come together on this because no matter what we teach- we will all see these children in our future in jobs where this concept needs to be known.

Teaching Science Middle Secondary Schools I

Hello Everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself my name is Stacy Hayes. This is my first class in my science core to earn my M.A. Ed. I have been teaching for 2 years and just left my job in a private residential school to work in the public schools. In my old position I taught all sciences 7-12 grades. This year I will be co-teaching biology. I'm very excited about working with all of you.

~Stacy

(Stacyjh)

A new class

Hello everyone- new and old to this blog! I am a 4th year Earth Science Teacher in Virginia Beach Public Schools. I just finished taking a class with Dr. Parlo this summer and if you haven't yet, don't worry... shes an awesome professor and her classes are a lot of fun!! Hopefully everyone is having a great start to the new semester. Good luck with your studies :)

Hello Everyone!

Hello to everyone in the Teaching of Middle and Secondary Schools I class! I hope everyone is excited to start a new class with Dr. Parlo! I know that Dr. Parlo has given Dreamweaver and Filebox instructions but if for some reason you have trouble with those like I did....Google sites does allow you to make a site that can stand for your e-portfolio it just doesn't allow as much fancy stuff as the other program does. But it is pretty easy to use so if you have questions about using google sites let me know and I will try to help!

ePortfolio link

I guess I have a ways to go toward technology competancy...here is the link!
http://sites.google.com/site/cindyakube/

My ePortfolio link

Hi all,
Not sure if anyone is still blogging here but I have just finished my web page. I used Google sites and it does have some limitations, but until I am happy with it for now. I have enjoyed our dialogue in this space and look forward to working with you in the future. Good luck with classes and teaching!

Dreamweaver Trial

I know there was a conversation on here earlier about the Dreamweaver trial expiring. One of the suggestions was to re-register using another email address. Unfortunately, you can only download the Adobe Dreamweaver trial once to your computer, so if you re-register with another email address you must download the free trial onto another computer to use. I ended up downloading the trial onto my brother's computer to use until I am able to get back to school.
Just thought I'd let ya'll know in case anyone was thinking about re-registering to use the Dreamweaver trial again.

-Ashley

E-Portfolio Link

Hey guys! Here is the link to my E-Portfolio.
www.filebox.vt.edu/users/krdubac/web

Definitely check it out if you're interested and let me know what you think...constructive criticism is good and I would love to know if anything isn't as user friendly as it could be. It's been a great semester, look forward to working with all of you in the fall!

Great Site for Videos

In researching grants I found a new site that the National Environmental Education Foundation has: Under Cool Tools, Check out the video on noctilucent clouds (I never heard of them...the video is great!) http://www.earthgauge.net/kids/

A interesting way to get paper

There have been a few teachers that actually get local businesses to supply paper to the teacher if they can run an ad at the bottom! Check out this brief clip from cbs:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4667549n%3fsource=search_video

Virtual Labs

Here is a fabulous site that a teacher/friend recommended. She teaches physical science and she couldn't believe I had never seen the site...evidently it is "THE" go to site for interactives. They call them simulations and there is alot the students can manipulate. Check it out when you have time! http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/

Cool Site

Hi everyone! My mom showed me this site and I thought I would share it with everyone! http://www.flashcardexchange.com/ Its a flashcard program with all sorts of fun stuff. Hope you enjoy.
-Lauren

Dreamweaver

Cindy- you said something about using google to finish your portfolio. I was wondering if you can give me some more details on this. I too am not on campus. Thanks!

P.S. Where do you work in Virginia Beach and what do you teach? I teach Earth Science at Bayside High.

Wiki Trouble

One other thing I forgot to ask on my recent post was ... was anyone else having trouble posting to the wiki while other people were posting to the same wiki at the same time? I am so sorry if I kicked anyone off while I was trying to post, but I kept seeing this message saying the post was locked because someone else was editing it. Is there anyway around that because I kept loosing my work? Hope no one else is having that problem!!
Lauren

Grant Proposals

Hey everyone! I wanted to share this awesome website I found for the grant proposal lesson. It is http://k12grants.org/grant_opps.htm and you can click on federal, state, and even foundation opportunities. After selecting one, you can search for different grants and narrow your search to categories such as science education. I found a very interesting one about math and science education. I wanted to share this with you all because I was having a little trouble finding some and wanted to let you in on this website just in case anyone else was having trouble! I hope it helps :)
-Lauren

Hi everyone!

I just talked to Dr. Parlo through email about how my DreamWeaver 30 day free trial application is about to expire. I was wondering how we were going to be able to work on our e-portfolios throughout next year. She said that almost all the computers on campus have it or we can check out laptops from the 2nd floor of War Memorial Hall.

She also said there are some free ones floating around that people have been using and to ask my fellow classmates on the blog if anyone has one they can pass along. If someone does, can they please let me (all of us!) know!

Thank you in advance!

Hang in there!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give a quick word of encouragement! I don't know if everyone else is as burnt out as I am, but only two weeks to go! Wow the summer is flying by. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone face-to-face this Fall. Keep up all the hard work, it will be worth it in the end!

What a day!

Hi everyone!
I hope everyone is having a better day than I am today! haha

I find it ironic that I did not have a good story to share when we were asked about backing up information to share a story on the blog. However, this morning when I woke up my computer crashed. I spent hours on the phone with VT 4 HELP trying to recover files off of my computer. Luckily, in the end I have been able to retrieve almost all of my information/school work/pictures/music and it is now backed up on my roommates computer as well as a flashdrive. I just wanted to remind everyone to back up their work (especially the eportfolio which I was freaking out about the most! as well as my personal pictures!)!! It can happen to anyone at any time, any day. And today has been the day from hell haha so try and avoid that at all cost!! :)
I hope everyone has a good rest of their night!
-Alex

Unzipping Files

I am having trouble opening up Dr. Parlo's zip files on my new computer. Its an HP Pavilion with Vistas. I can open them on my old Dell with XP but not the new one. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for me.

The Jason Project

Hi everyone! I just finished a two day workshop for prof. devel. on the Jason Project. I'm sure many of you have heard about it but if you haven't I thought I would throw this out to you. The Jason Project was started by Dr. Robert Ballard (founder of the Titanic). He thought that students needed to have inquiry in their studies and become excited about science. So he developed this project that currently has three operations: Operation Resilient Planet, Operation Monster Storm, and Operation Infinite Potential. Resilient Planet deals more so with environmental issues, Monster Storm of course is about weather, and Infinite Potential is about energy. They all have components for earth science, physical science, biology, and some chemistry. In each operation there are 5 missions that the students and you work through that have a researcher and student argonauts that help the students through what it is they are studying. All of the information and curriculum is FREE and downloadable!!!! You can join the "Mission Center" by visiting www.jason.org. Sign up as a teacher and you will be able to see lesson plans, all the materials that are in the actual books(which are VERY VERY nice- we were fortunate to get copies and work through materials of both Resilient Planet and Infinite Potential), and you can see how it connects to our standards as well. ALSO- big thing- there are digital labs and educational games that allow your students to practice the material you are learning! I really hope you will take a bit to look into this if you are not familiar with it. Its an awesome tool that gives you FOR FREE materials that are current up to date information about science! Let me know if you have any questions about it! I would be happy to help!

Student mentor relationships

Any thoughts on my original email or the gentleman's reply?


-----Original Message-----
From: Edna Patterson [mailto:edna.patterson@fcps.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 9:44 AM
To: info@mentornet.net
Subject: MentorNet Request

Hi - I teacher Juniors and Seniors. At the top of thelist is student
safety. Does MentorNet do any kind background check on the mentors? I must
show a reasonable level of safety before I can recommend the site to my
students. Thanks,Edna Patterson

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Edna:

Your question addresses the issue that is part of the reason we currently
don't do matches with secondary students. MentorNet currently only connects
post-secondary students with mentors. We do ask for a reference check on
our mentors but that's not sufficient due diligence to address the need to
protect minors.

Please tell your students about MentorNet as something they might
participate once they get to a participating college or university. There
are some professional societies that, through their local chapters will
provide mentors and they either provide background checks or run the mentors
through the local school district process.

Thank you for your interest in MentorNet. I'm sorry I don't have more
information about a program in your area that does provide the high quality
mentoring experience that MentorNet offers.

Be well.
Ray

Raymond M. Rose
Director of Programs and Partnerships
MentorNet, the E-Mentoring Network for Diversity in Engineering and Science
www.MentorNet.net

tel: 512.791.3100
fax: 408.296.4404
rrose@mentornet.net

MentorNet
1275 S. Winchester Blvd., Suite E
San Jose, CA 95128-3910
USA

Earth Science Collaboration Project

I just found another link in the CIESE site...Real Time Data projects, that include an Ask an Expert section. Check out this one on earthquakes and plate tectonics:
http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/musicalplates3/en/index.shtml

Virtual Collaboration

The CIESE is a great site. I used theInternational Boiling Point Project for my lesson. You can sign up for their listserv : http://www.ciese.org/cieselistserv.html

Collaboration

I am having trouble coming up with my collaboration lesson plan... I don't want to just have the students ask a question, most of the collaborative websites dont deal with earth science, and the biome project doesnt help in earth science either. Any suggestions??

WebQuest

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had an okay time completing the WebQuest assignment. My one complaint about Zunal.com is the "Evaluation Page". I did not want to set up my rubric for the assignment I chose in the same format that Zunal.com picked for me. Did anyone else have this problem? Dr. Parlo said many people wished that this page had more flexibility for teachers. Does anyone agree?
Have a good Tuesday!

Emailing in classroom

At the beginning of the year I have the students fill out the typical informational sheet and I request the students email as well as the parents. It is definitely time consuming to call parents about an upcoming tests or events so one quick email helps. Of course when you send out a mass email, make sure you fill out BCC! I have a lot of students that actually email me (only my school account) to find out what they missed for the day. Next year we will be using a textbook that is online so I will really be pushing for students to email me because they will be able to read and do the bookwork at home if they were absent!

Webquest

Hey Everyone! Hope you are having a good week. I just finished my webquest today. Wow that was a lot of work. I just wanted to post it in case anyone needed some ideas! Plus, I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of it! Here's the link: http://zunal.com/webquest.php?user=32862
Good luck!

Email

I have never thought of emailing students before. I see how it can be useful if a student has a question for subjects like science or history but math....I am not so sure. I think it would be difficult to talk about a math problem through email. I can see it being useful if a student did not have the assignment or lost the paper but I don't always remember the assignment or have a copy on hand to send. I make most of my worksheets but for worksheets that I get from other sources it would be hard. Maybe email is something I can try this year. Now I do use email for parents and it works well if parents have email. I found that last year only one parent wanted emails from me about up coming tests or other school relate information. I think there should not be a problem with emails as long as they are basic information being exchanged. I tell the parents that if they email me about their child's grade I say "see their blue grade sheet". It is away for the student to be responsible for keeping track of their grade.

WebQuest

Hey are you all using Zunal.com for your webquests? I like the way it is setup and it does make it very easy, but it's kinda of unappealing when compared to those templates. Anyone using a template, is it easy to use?

Email/Listserve for Homework

Email/listserve is great for sending out nightly homework assignments. At open house and through the year, our team maintains a listserve. We send out a daily email that contains homework and any team announcements. Our parents love this...they can give us their work and/or home email and support their children. We can also add attachments such as a dance flyer, fundraiser, etc. Middle schoolers are notorius for not bringing things home so this ensures that parents receive school news, etc.

Email for Assignments

I often have students who email assignments if they have a printer/ink problem. This eliminates the "I don't have it" excuse due to printer problems! The students have my school email but I would never give my personal email address. I only correspond with parents via my school email as well.

Emailing Parents

I think staying in contact with the parents is key. My high school did a wonderful job of keeping our parents in the loop of everything that was going on. My teachers sent my parents websites and documents explaining the course material so they could help us work on homework and various assignments. It was neat for my Dad especially because he was a big science geek when he was in school and loved trying to out-smart me when I was studying for quizzes and exams. I hope to have a similar relationship with my students' parents when I am teaching.
My Mom, who is a 3rd grade teacher, has actually had some pretty rough situations with parents on the other hand. This past year she wished she had not given out her e-mail address because she had a very intense mother harassing her with daily e-mails. They were not always rude, but the mother would send her an e-mail at least everyday and sometimes more than once a day. Typically the e-mails would be about whether or not the daughter was staying on task, but sometimes she would simply want to know if her daughter was having a good day. It was annoying for my Mom who was trying to keep the mother in the loop without giving daily, minute-by-minute progress reports.

Email in the Classroom

I think email is a great tool, if used properly. It can be beneficial if a student needs to contact a teacher after school hours or a question comes up on an assignment. I think it could also really help shy students have a forum to talk with the teacher in a more comfortable environment. Of course with this technology comes the issue of the blurred line of professionalism. I think setting up a folder to keep track of email correspondence is extremely important. Setting up ground rules at the beginning of the year probably helps too. You could tell a classroom that they shouldn't expect a response to anything non-school related, or any questions after 10pm or something along those lines. Overall, I think the use of email is a great tool.

Emailing Students

I feel that I wouldn't really email students. Mainly because so many of what is written online gets misconceived all of the time. It is very hard to get across tone, feelings, and opinions online. I would prefer to talk to my students in person after class. I would use the email to let students know if I wanted to talk to them. Besides that I would use email as a way to distribute things to all of my students at once. This would come in handy because it would no longer take class time up to hand out an important document. Another reason that I would use email is to send out websites that I want all of my students to use or look at. This will provide an easy way for the students to just click on the address and be right where I want them to be.

Graphic Organizers

I came across this website in another graduate course I am taking (EDCI 5264) and thought I wouls share it with everyone! This website seems like a great resource to use to make and create graphic organizers. I used Word to ccreate the organizer I turned in for this class, but the symbols, graphics, and text of this application seem much more appealing to students! Check it out and let me know what you think! There is a free 30 day trial.
www.inspiration.com

Email

Personally, I love e-mail as a communication tool. I think it will be very helpful to allow my students to communicate with me this way. It is a quick way for them to get clarification on assignments or ask questions from material covered in class. E-mail is especially nice for those students who may be too shy to ask a teacher something directly in class. As mentioned earlier, it will also be a useful tool for me to send reminders, give feedback, or offer study suggestions. As long as e-mails initiated by the teacher are relevant to class and student e-mails are saved for records, I don't foresee any major problem using e-mail to communicate with students!

Emailing students and FACEBOOK question

As mentioned in other posts, emailing with students is generally a good way to communicate. I keep a folder called "Student Communication" for all student emails. As others have posted, my students will email when they are absent, etc. The biggest advantage is for my procrastinators. I remind them that they can email me with questions or problems the night before a deadline. Even if we can't fix it, at least I know they are working on the assignment. Usually, I check email throughout the night and respond until about 11 PM. I haven’t had a time when there was a sensitive or personal issue. Depending on the issue, a face-to-face conversation with the student or with a counselor might be the way to go. Whether communication is in the classroom or virtually, we are all bound by the legality of mandatory reporting.
Added question for your comments – does your school have a policy of teachers and students being “friends” on Facebook??

Email

Like the other posts on here, I believe that it is appropriate to email students about classroom work only. Emails should be limited to subjects such as homework assignments, grades (like what Dr. P. mentioned in her lesson about emailing out report cards or progress reports), or questions about science concepts that were taught in the lecture that week. There are tremendous benefits to emailing. Through email, students who are unable to stay after class could get the extra help they needed on a homework assignment or lesson. Additionally, email is a less invasive way for the students to communicate with the teacher outside of class. To me, handing out a cell phone or home phone number to have students call if they have any questions is too personal. I have had teachers and professors who have given out their cell phone number and told the class to call if they had any questions. I never called the teacher because always I felt that a phone call might interrupt the teacher at inappropriate time. For instance, what if I had called while the teacher was having dinner with his or her family? With email, the teacher can designate a time frame to the answer students’ emails during the day. For example, teachers can tell the students that they will answer all emails between 7 and 9 p.m. in the evenings.

The drawback of email occurs when a teacher uses it incorrectly. To avoid any legal issues, the teacher should keep all emails strictly professional. To CYA, as Dr. P would say, teachers should keep a folder on their computer that contained all of the emails that were sent out to students. That way you could always know exactly what you wrote in an email to a student!

Emailing Students:

I think that emailing students/ responding to emails should be strictly professional. Personal emails amongst teachers and students can only lead to problems. You don't want anybody to question your professionalism or perceive something wrong. Students should email their teachers if they have questions about an assignment or project that they are working on at home. My students have a tendency to email me when they miss a day of school so they can stay up to date with their assignments. At the beginning of the school year, you give your students your email address and I expect them to use it. To me it is there to aid in communication, not to be a hinderance. My students can even email me from their phones (outside of school of course!!) with questions. If used correctly, email is a great advantage to clearing up misconceptions and answering questions. The problem comes from teachers not using it properly and students trying to be friends with their teachers.

Emailing Students: yes/no?

I think emailing students in your class is okay if it is for classroom assistance only. Some of these benefit items may include things like homework help and reminders for tests/quizzes/projects. I feel like it is important for your students to have some sort of communication with you if possible. I personally would rather them email me instead of calling me because it would allow me to have a source of documentation right at my hands in case anything were to come up with it. And it also is contributing to the idea of incorporating more technology into the classroom and schools. I think that is important to lay out ground rules though from the beginning. Let the students know that your email is only for school/classroom related business and nothing else. Hopefully this will nip some things in the bud before they start. It would definitely be a drawback if your emailing relationship started to become abused.
I believe it becomes a legal issue when you start to building a "friendship" relationship with your students on line and it is no longer about class. I think it probably starts out very innocent but you never know what could happen when you least expect it.

Email with Students

In your "lesson", you saw many different uses for email in your classroom. My question for your discussion is:
Is it appropriate to email students? What would be the benefits? The drawbacks? Any legal or ethical concerns? How might you address any issues?

Link for Max Axiom Graphics Series

Hi all, I found the publisher..Capstone..here is a link...read some teacher reviews if you have time...I did't even know there was an ecosystems book!

http://www.capstonepress.com/aspx/pDetail.aspx?EntityGUID=a679f13e-9e47-45af-a1e9-71550f20b298#detail

Assistive Technology Site

Here is another resource on assistive technology:
www.internet4classrooms.com/special_needs_assistive.htm

Accessible Reading-Grahic Science Comics

This year we got some new books in the school library...has anyone seen the series
"Max Axiom-Super cool scientist? The kids love them..the titles include safety, sci method, magnetism, light, global warming. I just googled to find that they even come in an interactive CD version! The reading level ranges from 3-5 but honestly the interest is through 10th, especially for struggling readers. I highly recommend checking these out. Just google "Max Axiom" (science teacher/super hero!)

Head's Up...

Hey everyone I was looking at my bill for the Fall Semester and noticed that my Teacher Reduction was not included on my bill. I asked Dr. Parlo and she informed me that you have to fill out this form every year to get the reduction. I have attached to the link to retrieve the form, its the fifth one down from the top. Good Luck Everyone..
http://www.grads.vt.edu/forms/index.html

Reading is essential to any classroom. All teachers are reading teachers and each teacher has to help students comprehend his or her textbook’s subject matter. This can be especially difficult for science teachers because the concepts they teach contain a very large and diverse scientific vocabulary. I know when I mention a concept like the Krebs cycle to most people I might as well be speaking Greek. I can’t imagine trying to comprehend the Krebs cycle from a textbook if I struggled with reading. All students should be taught how to read properly and their reading skills should be monitored within each classroom. Reading properly can help a child excel academically and it can also help the child be successful later in life.

I have a very mixed opinion on this subject. I feel that reading is very important, however, I believe that if a student struggles with reading then testing that child through reading is unjust. Like many people who have posted, I believe that you are really only measuring how well the child can read and not how well he or she understands the concepts that were taught to him or her. There are multiple ways to test a child within the science classroom. I think a teacher can have a better idea of what the student has learned if you give them an oral exam or a laboratory practical. If you test a child through reading, such as multiple choice tests, they may just get lucky and pick the right answer and not know the material at all.

If a student has difficulties reading, then assistive technology should be used. There are computer programs to read the test orally for students. Tests’ texts could also be enlarged or the color changed for students who are visually impaired. The student could be asked to give a presentation (such as a power point presentation) rather than being tested through a written exam. Assistive technology should be used on a case by case basis, to fit each individual with a reading disability’s needs.

Accessibility is Key

When a student is a struggling reader, testing them on science content is essentially inconclusive. If the content is inaccessible to the student, it’s like grading them on attendance even though the door to the classroom is locked! When dealing with the issue of struggling readers, I feel as though there are several routes to success in science. First of all, even as a biology instructor, I know I will be a reading teacher as well. It is important to help students with reading and literacy at all stages of their academic career. Everyone can use some improvement.

Second, since I will be teaching biology, it will be important to get the content across to all students regardless of their reading ability. The key to this issue is making the information accessible to all students. I think the picture on Dr. P’s PPT slide about shoveling the snow is a seriously fantastic explanation of accessibility. Using assistive technology, or at least providing options to all students, is extremely helpful in increasing accessibility. It would just not be fair to test a student on something they were supposed to have read in a textbook if they are grade levels behind their peers in reading ability, so offering all students the option of listening to a lecture instead really helps.

All reading teachers

I truly believe that we are ALL reading teachers. Even though I am not an inclusion teacher, I am constantly finding new ways to help my students. For example, my school is a part of an online program called quia.com. All of my tests are given on quia and when I created my tests I also recorded them. All of my students are able to grab headphones on test day and have the tests read to them. I also use other content reading strategies such as graphic organizers, KWL, Webquests, RAFT, etc. Using these strategies reassures me that even though the students might be struggling in reading, they have numerous options to gain the knowledge in other ways and build on thier reading skills.

Milbourne. Assistive Technology

No matter what the curriculum is students who are not good readers are going to struggle with reading and comprehension when taking test. A thought that crosses my mind is that we are testing their ability to recognize certain words and then they make educated guesses on what they see, even though they truly do not understand the context. Reading and comprehension is very important when trying to understand science. Discovery and exploration through laboratory work are two important concepts I believe are important in a science classroom. Laboratory work is often preformed by individual students or with partners that are required to read the laboratory manual before performing an experiment. There is a concern raised about laboratory safety when students are not capable of reading the manual to prevent accidents from occurring. I believe it is important for science teachers to develop strategies and instruction to identify and help bad readers. There are several technologies that can assist students with reading disabilities and many other types. One is the use of a computer when conducting labs. A computer could possibly read the laboratory manual to the student before he or she performs the lab, ultimately reducing the risk of an accident occurring. The computer could also enlarge text for students who have visual disabilities and offer help to physical disabilities by providing software where students can perform the lab on the computer with a click of a mouse versus having to pick up or move heavy or dangerous equipment.

Assistive Technology- Reading

The longer I teach the more I have realized that the Biology SOL is really a reading test. This past year I taught 4 collaborative biology classes and I really watched my kids struggle on reading the test and what the questions are actually asking them to answer. To help combat this problem and to get the kids used to these type of questions I added released SOL questions to everyone one of my tests throughout the year. I found that this helped all my students, but especially those who had a reading disability. I unfortunately think that as a teacher you have to test each students scientific knowledge even if they have trouble reading. You can aid those students who struggle by offering small group testing or read aloud. Also, to combat student struggles with tests, I offer other ways for a student to show that they understand the material. This is either through labs or projects. Not everyone can prove their knowledge on a topic through tests, this allows those students to demonstrate scientific knowledge through a hands on means.

Are we all Reading Teachers?

Are we all Reading Teachers?
The answer is yes. As a new teacher I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to a two day reading seminar. What did I know – it was a free seminar and I might just get something for my classroom. The seminar leader started the first day by asking – “How many of you are teachers of reading?” Only a handful of people raised their hands. She raised her voice a little and asked again. The audience “got” what she was really saying and almost everyone raided their hands. The truth is, no matter what the subject, we are all teachers of reading. Each text book is set up differently, maybe there are bold or italics for the ‘important’ stuff. We need to show all the students how to handle the book. Formatting of lectures, use of graphic organizers and tests should be set up the same way as we teach.
Assessing their science knowledge is more important that assessing how well they read is. Luckily, in science we have labs. Performance assessments help gauge knowledge for lower skilled readers.

Assistive Technology Link

Here is a cool link I found about Assisstive Technology for elementary schools. I am sure there is a similar source for middle and high schools.

Assistive Technology

That is a very good topic. If you give a test and the student cannot read the test what you are really testing is their ablilty to read. If you want to test the student on what they know in science then the test should be read to them. I don't know of any programs that you could have the test read to them on a computer but I am sure there is software out there for that. I do know that some of the SOL test are read by the computer now. I know that math could be read by the computer but I don't know about the other subjects. Also, with laws and IEP's some times the test must be read to the student. If it is stated in the IEP that a student should have something by law we have to give them what is stated in the IEP.

Dreamweaver

Would anyone know why if I uploaded all my information from my web folder into filebox that my web address wouldn't work??? If I click on preview in filebox, my homepage is there, but when I try to click on my web address, an error comes up! :(

Assistive Technology

If a student struggles with reading and comprehending a question, then you are not completely assessing their knowledge of the subject. This is unfair to the student as well as the teacher, because your methods of teaching that lesson could be right on point and make sense to the student, but it is the exam question that is preventing them from choosing the correct answer. It is even worse for a student with a disability who might be able to comprehend the question if using assistive technology. Every student deserves a fair chance at answering exam questions. That includes students with disabilities or students in general who benefit from assistive technology. A student with an attention deficit disability needs the proper medication or tools to focus through the entire examination. Otherwise, the teacher is only measuring a fraction of his/her ability at that point when he/she is able to focus during the exam. Without the proper tools, these students are not only conquering the science content, but the disability they face as well. If they are being thrown more obstacles than their classmates, they have less time to focus on the science aspect of their exam or learning in general. It is extremely important to me to be able to measure everyone of my students' science content knowledge and to do that, every other obstacle must be overcome first. If this means using assistive technology then I fully support that method. If the student has trouble reading the word problem, then it is unreasonable for me to expect them to be able to answer the question. Chemistry is hard enough. These students do not need anymore obstacles. There are several symbols in chemistry word problems that are difficult to read with 20/20 vision so a student with vision problems is going to have an even more difficult time doing so. It is very possible that he/she will misinterpret the question. Assistive technology such as magnified print can greatly reduce this problem.

Reading is Essential

I was always a reader as a kid, and throughout my life as a student, mom, etc. As a scientist, reading was critical. Now, as a teacher, I like to bring "real world reading" into my classroom so my students realize how relevant science is(news articles, etc.) I am trying to use my text more, since taking a reading in the content area class. I used to disregard the text, giving kids the notes they need, showing videos, clips, etc., and of course mostly doing hands on stuff. Now, However, I realize that using the text can really help my students strengthen their reading skills. Content reading instruction enables students to become autonomous learners. Our newly adopted text for life science in Virginia Beach (Glencoe) have an online student edition with a resource called "interactive text". This is a basic version of the text, but it is written with no frills/extra info, at 2 grade levels below 7. The student reads a section, and it also has embedded questions to help guide them in their comprehension of the material. I am looking forward to seeing how this will help students this year. i am pretty "old school" in the philosophy that we are all teachers of reading and writing. To that end, I also taught many math lessons this year. For alot of kids, I feel that science is the class where all the basics are used, and are integrated (that's why science ROCKS!)

Assistive Technology

If a teacher has a student with reading disabilities that affects their test taking capabilities, then that teacher should make accommodations for that student. Without these accommodations that student is being punished by taking a test they can't read or understand. The student is not getting a fair assessment of their knowledge because the teacher is assessing their reading skills/capabilities rather than the students content knowledge. As a science teacher, reading is important, but no more important than a students content understanding, visual aids, and other resources in the classroom. I feel is it more important to judge a students knowledge based on how they can interpret information and apply it to real world situations, and other sciences, rather than reading and regurgitating what was read. In order to not punish students with reading disabilities, reading accommodations need to be given. The assistive technologies that these students can use are, bigger print text, computer based test, or have an assistant read the test to the student and have that student record their answer. By using these assistive technologies the student has the same chance of learning the material as the other students, and is assessed based on their knowledge and not any reading disability that they may have.

Assistive Technology

If a student struggles in reading and it is affected their outcome on my science tests, that is definitely something that I need to address. No, I am not a science teacher, but I always stress upon my students that you need math, reading, etc. to make it in science and vice versa. If they are not receiving services through an IEP, I would arrange for them to take their test with me maybe during lunch or my planning period. I would then see if the students does better if I read the material to them. Or I could use some assistive technology means such as a read to software material. It is our job as teachers to provide the means for each student to be able to do their best. If the student requires more assistance we need to be open to providing or thinking of new ideas that can better serve the student. I wouldn't want the student to begin to dislike science because they couldn't read the test questions.

Assisstive Technology

If a student has difficulty reading then assessing their science knowledge through reading seems unfair. I agree with Alex that this is mostly testing them on their reading ability. As a science teacher, it is most important for me to evaluate the student's understanding of science concepts; however I believe it is also my responsibility to help them access science material by providing them with necessary reading strategies or assisting technologies. If a student is really struggling with reading comprehension, helping them organize text and make meaning of what they read will ultimately help them achieve my overall goal: understanding science! Although I am not a reading teacher, reading is a necessary part of science in the classroom as well as in the real-world. To participate in future science endeavors students must be able to access science literature and comprehend scientific journals. For some students this may only be possible through assisting technology. For example, text may be provided in Braille or large print. Written text can also be read through digital devices. Whether it is a matter of simply providing reading strategies for better comprehension, or providing alternative assessments through assisting technology, science content should be made available for all students and adapted to each student's individual needs.

Assistive Technology

• If I have a student who struggles with reading and this in turn affects their ability to do well on test, I am actually just measuring their reading ability. The questions on the test may deal with content knowledge, but the test is just measuring their ability to decipher words to try to make sense of test questions. This really is not an accurate description of how well the student is performing in my class.
• It is not very important to me as a science teacher to view a student's science knowledge through the lens of their ability to read. Although I want all of my student's to succeed in reading and I think it is vital attribute for success in society, if a disability is preventing or causing struggles for a particular student, I would like to find another fair way to assess their progress in my class. Literacies can come in many forms, and reading is just one of them.
• These assistive technologies would take the stress away from reading and allow the student to focus on the material present. Oral tests given either by a teacher or aide or an assistive technology device can help the student answer the questions without the stress of reading the actual words. Larger print tests could also be beneficial for the struggling reader. Another accommodation could be giving the student extra time or extra help when reading the test, although this may not be assistive technology.

Homepage Help!?

Hi everyone!
I am having some difficulty uploading the templates to my webpage to use as a homepage? Does anyone have any experience un-zipping files on their computer? I can't seem to get the whole template to load. Thanks in advance for the help!

Computer crashes

I am very lucky (I hope I am not jinxing myself) that I have never experienced a total crash. My computer is a laptop from the school and we have a great tech department that take scare of everything. All my data, etc is stored on the school server, so if that ever crashes – I’m dead. My daughter has taken her computer to the “geek Squad” at Best Buy to fix problems and it usually come back with different problem that results in a second trip! Since losing many pictures, she bought an external hard drive and backs up her data.

Security Breach

Well this past school year, I was fortunate enough to get a laptop to go along with my new smartboard in my classroom. I took my computer on spring break with me to work on SOL review, etc. While I was on vacation I must have gotten the mother of all trojan viruses. It took our media specialists several days to try and get rid of the virus. In one day I had 200+ notices on my computer about a virus. Finally, she had to ghost my computer because she could never figure out how to get rid of it.

Security

To be honest, I don't think I have ever had problems with my computer or with a security breach. I am careful of the websites I use and never give out information that is important. I bought my first computer in 2000 when I began college and I just purchased a new one in 2009 only because I needed an upgrade in memory and style! My secret is making sure I have an up to date Nortons Antivirus.

Kyle's Security Breach

Several years ago I experienced a security breach of my paypal account. Not knowing any better, I fell for a phishing scam that luckily only resulted in me losing about $400. I received an email from what I thought was paypal asking me to confirm some information. I clicked on the link and thought all was taken care of. That weekend when I checked my account I noticed 2 ATM transactions from Transylvania (I kid you not)of about $200 each. I immediately contacted my bank and canceled my debit card as well as contacted paypal. In the end I was reimbursed the money and even interviewed by the FBI. About 4 months after the ordeal I received a letter from the bank saying that they were unable to obtain enough information for the FBI to make an arrest. Once again I learned my lesson the hard way!

Tray Rives Security Problems

A few years ago I got some virus on my computer, most likely through downloading music. I couldn't be on the computer without hundreds of Internet Explorer windows popping up. I then had to spend close to three hours on the phone with Dell support talking me through how to wipe my hard drive clean and redo my computer. I no longer illegally download music.

Technology

I have never had a computer security breach that I know of so far. I think some of the reasons are because I do not use the computer a lot. I don’t use it to bank, pay bills, or just to “surf”. Now I have lost data from hard a drive which is really sad. Losing pictures from vacations and family events that can not be replaced is heartbreaking. Also, the computer that I am working on just had the hard drive replaced because it crashed. There was a lot of data on the hard drive that was lost but most of it was my husband’s data. The last big amount of data that I lost was an external hard drive that my husband dropped. My husband explained that the way that it fell is what messed it up.

Introduction

Hello everyone! I am April Clark and I work in VA Beach public schools. I have been teaching Earth Science for three years and try to incorporate technology as much as possible. I have no idea about blogs or wikis, so this should be interesting!! VA Beach is trying to encourage teachers to have websites so everything I learn here should help me in the future.

KD Computer Security

Computer crashes are so terrible. My sophomore year of college, I had a three year old computer that had thousands of my pictures, all my school work, and lots of music on it. I don't even remember what led up to the crash, but one day I turned my computer on and the screen was just blue. I called the IT people on campus and I remember the lady I was speaking to said "oh you have the microsoft blue screen of death".... I was very concerned at that point. I spent five hours that day in the 4help computer place, and eventually they recovered most of my data by putting it on an external hard drive, restoring my computer, and then putting everything back. It could have been much worse, and I have definitely invested in an external hard drive for backup purposes since then.

Introduction: Kyle Evans

Hi everyone. I am Kyle Evans and I teach 4th grade in the Falls Church City Schools. It's my 8th year teaching and 6th in VA. I am always looking for ways to incorporate technology into my lessons, not only with Science, but everything else as well. Over the past couple of years my 4th graders have been able to use our class blogs (to post and comment)as well as use email through Angel (think baby blackboard). I look forward to working with all of you.

Computer Security Story

Unfortunately I have several computer horror stories to share. The worst one I have had to deal with was when I was a junior in high school. I was using the family computer to write a 10 page research paper for my English class and I did not back the paper up on a disc. I was up to the 8th page of writing when the computer froze and I lost everything I had written. I had to rewrite the whole paper 2 days before it due. (Turns out our hard drive crashed, it was a really old computer. I also blame my brother who had multiple online games downloaded to the computer). Since that day I've backed up all my files multiple ways (through flash drives, discs, etc).
Another story I have is from a friend of mine. Her computer crashed junior year of college and she had not backed up any information. The computer service people at Tech said her hard drive had crashed and they could not recover any of her music, photos, documents, etc. She lost everything. She replaced the hard drive for $100.00 but she probably lost hundreds of dollars of music from her computer. Now she has a new hard drive and an external hard drive that she backs up all her files on every week.

Computer Security Scare

Like Lauren, my daughter was also an AIM addict( and the evil myspace). Our family computer had been slowing down to a crawl and I was panicking as I was in the middle of an online course. It seemed like the computer was about to crash..it would turn on but never actually boot up. It took three days of work by the computer resource specialist at school to remove a horrible number of viruses, some of which he thinks came in through kaza (sp)., and the downloading of various images that my daughter wanted to use to "decorate" her myspace page. Luckily I had saved my research and other work on a thumb drive. She is a little older and a little wiser, but we still share the same computer, so backup and protect is my mantra!

Computer Security Post

I use to be addicted to AIM and received an IM from one of my friends one more that had a link to a cute picture. Well sure enough it was a virus/trojan mix and ended up sending the exact same IM to everyone on my buddy list. My sister had just set up an AIM account for my mom and she was so excited she received an IM from me so she opened the "picture" right away. Well, it took several different anti-virus software programs to clean out both computers and my dad uninstalled AIM from everyone's computers after that.

Devin Milbourne: Introduction

Hi! My name is Devin Milbourne. I finished my undergraduate at Virginia Tech this past May and started the graduate program for education shortly after. I am excited and looking forward to teaching middle school science, high school biology, or earth science. I am not sure where I want to teach but I have always wanted to live near the beach, so I might give it a try after graduation. Since technology is rapidly becoming more accessible and widely used throughout schools I hope to gain new knowledge about technology that I can incorporate in my classroom to enhance student learning.

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Cindy Kube and I teach middle school in Virginia Beach. I have been teaching for 10 years and am so excited about finally beginning a Masters program. I have two daughters-one a rising junior Hokie and a soon to be freshman at Tidewater Community College. That means all three of us are enrolled this fall! I want to make my lessons more "alive" by integrating technology in ways that give my students a stronger voice in active learning. My adolescent students have a keen interest in using technology; in fact, the more technology in the classroom, the more they are interested and the easier classroom managament is...negative behaviors seem to diminish! I love the social and collaborative nature of wikis, blogs, voicethreads, etc. I'm glad I have the time this summer to dive into full time learning (that's what it's going to take to get comfortable with all this!) when I am not teaching.

I DID IT!!! Introduction

Wow!! That was really hard!! I am not joking. I have been trying to do this all day. If every assignment is this hard it is going to be a long class. So, I have been teaching for nine years now. I have taught in other countries and in a few different states. The last four years I have been teaching math. I can do a few things on the computer, not blogging, including a promethean program called flipchart. I am going to be learning a lot in this class. There are things I have never heard of that I am going to be learning.

Intro- Carrie Bateman

Hi everyone! I am getting ready to start my 5th year teaching high school biology and oceanography. I graduated with a MS in marine biology from UNCW and minored in chemistry and environmental science. I also did some graduate work in oceanography, where I taught college labs, this of course led me to want to teach. I teach at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, VA. I love teaching science, especially to high school students. I am looking forward on learning how to incorporate more technology into my classroom and how to improve upon some of the technology I already incorporate into my lessons.

Introduction

Hi everyone. I am looking forward to this class to test what I think I know about some of the programs we will be using as well as learning about some new programs. I think that technology is a great medium in to teach/learn information. Good luck to everyone and have a great second half of summer.

Ashley Short -Introduction

Hello, my name is Ashley Short and I just graduated from Tech with my B.S. in Biology. After I finish the masters program for secondary science education, I hope to teach middle school science or high school biology. I would like to teach in or around the area I am from, which is the Shenandoah Valley. Like many others who have posted, I am also technologically challenged and hope to gain a lot of useful information that I can use in my own classroom someday.

Kelli Dubac-Introduction

Hello! My name is Kelli Dubac. I have a B.S. in Biology and look forward to teaching high school bio somewhere in the Northern VA area after finishing my Masters. Down the road, I would love to teach human anatomy and physiology. I am extremely technologically challenged-I had to call my 15 year old brother to ask about all the stuff we'll be using in this class, and he assured me that if he can learn it, I can too. Needless to say, I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty slow at this, but there is obviously so much benefit to using the technology that my students will likely already know how to use when I'm in a classroom next fall!

Computer Security

I had a friend who was taken advantage of by a phising e-mail. The e-mail was supposedly from Bank of America and asked to verify her password and user name. In a hurry, she replied to the link and lost everything in her checking account. I think the bank was able to replace most of what was lost, but this instance definitely made me more cautious receiving e-mails!

Computer Security Blog Post

My father will tell you that he has been telling me to back up my files and protect my computer using anti-virus applications since I was born. The truth is, I only back up my pictures. I am a huge fan of taking and uploading photos and because they are so near and dear to my heart I always back them up on my parents' hard drive. Just beginning my teaching exploration and reading the other "Computer Security Blog" post, I have realized the importance of backing up all of the materials I use/need on a daily basis. I could not imagine putting so much work into lesson plans and administrative type documents as a teacher, or in our case the e-portfolio for graduation, and then losing everything! Ah! I am definitely going to start now as I proceed through this course and the rest of my Masters program. I'd hate to be Carrie Bradshaw in this situation. :)

HI my name is Edna Patterson. This class marks the second half along my path to a M Ed in Teaching Science. I currently teach Geosystems, in Fairfax, to juniors and seniors. We use the SOL standards for Earth Science, with other technology enhancements. So, all the parts of this class will help me with my lessons.
I have a 13 year old cat and a 2 year old Westie. They have a love/hate relationship, but keep each other occupied. I enjoy reading, anything sci-fi (saw the new Star Trek in IMAX 2X - wow) and traveling. One daughter just graduated from U of Maryland with a major in Criminology and even got a job. She will be attending Marymount University for a MA in Criminal Psychology. All that and a wedding on 9/19/09! The second daughter is starting the Travel and Tourism program at NOVA. Good for my traveling desires.

Welcome Post!

Hi! My name is Alex Gallo and I have just started my Masters program this summer for Secondary Science Education. I am interested in teaching Chemistry back home in Northern Virginia after I graduate. I am excited about this course because I do not have any experience using Dreamweaver or making websites. I am also excited to get a jump start on my e-portfolio that can be added to and changed throughout my program. I really look forward to working with and learning from all of you through the blog and wiki this semester. I hope everyone is having a great first day of classes! :)

Introduction - Lauren Thompson

Hi everyone!! My name is Lauren Thompson and I am an avid surfer and beginner stand up paddler from Virginia Beach. I just graduated with my degree in Chemistry and I plan to teach high school chemistry as soon as I finish my Masters. I am very excited about this class because I am technologically challenged and have never even heard of half of the websites we are going to be using. I am thrilled to learn a lot of valuable information that I can use in my classroom and pass on to my students in the future.

Introduction

Hello Everyone!
My name is Jessica and I am excited to be in the second summer session working towards completing my Masters! I will be teaching middle school life science after I graduate. I am from Richmond, VA and plan on moving back to teach there. I know I will gain a lot from this class considering how little I know currently! I hope to have a better understanding of how to incorporate technology in my classroom as well as to make planning and instruction easier for myself. I am excited to get started and know I have a lot to learn!

Computer Security Blog

In the PowerPoint on Computer Security and Acceptable Use, Dr. Parlo mentioned how important it is to back-up your data. I definitely see the extreme importance in doing so now. Back in March, within one week, I lost my entire teaching material on my flashdrive, my home computer got infected with viruses, and my school computer got infected with viruses. I suppose both of the computers I was using got infected due to my flashdrive that I used both at work and at school. I was lucky enough to recover all data on both computers but was not lucky enough to recover the data on my flashdrive. I was not very smart in that about half of the material on my flashdrive was not saved anywhere else. I have never felt so sick than I did this week when everything went up. I now am keeping back-up files for all documents I create and I have updated my virus ware on the computer. Please take my experience as a learning experience! It really doesn't feel good when you know you have lost over 30 some PPTs which is quite a bit of time gone as well!

Hello

Hi everyone! I am going on my fifth year teaching and I decided that I wanted to earn a masters before I lost my drive to do it! So I am now in my third masters class and I am really looking forward to seeing new ways to use technology in my science classroom. I hope to take away from this class many new ideas and ways to modify my old methods. I think its important to continually learn and develop new methods of teaching in order to meet the needs of our changing students.

Assistive Technology during science tests

Obviously, it is not fair to try to test a student on their comprehension of material in a manner that gives them a disadvantage. As a science teacher, and as someone who has gone through these classes previously, I know that written tests cannot always be dependable to measure a student's comprehension. In science, hands on experience is often crucial to a student's understanding of a concept. Even after 18 years of education, I still cannot fully grasp or explain some concepts without using hands on materials; so this can aid in better forming assesments.
Assistive Technology can greatly aid someone who has difficulties reading as quickly as other students. It can level the testing and minimize problems associated with difficulties a studnet might have. One technology that might be useful is pre-recorded tests on personal headsets so other students in the classroom do not have to be distracted by reading the questions a load. The students could skip forward and backward through the questions and work on them at their own comfort level. These could easily be made available to all students. I would also include some hand on identifications when possible and quations that are simply worded and as short as possible.

Assessment in Science Classrooms

It depends on if the student’s reading problem is related to a disability. It could be an intellectual disability, learning disability, hearing impairment or some other kind of disability. It is crucial as a teacher to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities.  Tests should not be a form of punishment to students. Students’ ability to read should not be the main point of the assessment. Assessment is the tool to evaluate if the student has learned the material and if the teacher has presented the material to students that could be understandable. As a science teacher, there are more ways to assess students. Tests should not be the only way to assess students’ knowledge on the content. If a student needs an oral test or some other format of a test to present his or her ability, then there should be alternative test available for that student.

Science Assessment

I have a sister who has a sever learning disability in reading. This semester I read over her IEP and looked for items I may or may not agree with now. One thing that was common was having dictation available to her. However, in an English class she would not have this available. I believe this was the staff's accommodation for my sister. However, as I have spent more time thinking about this, I wonder if it really helped. I agree with everyone that a student should not be punished in the science classroom for their reading abilities. But where I think I am a bit different is I feel the student should still read in the science classroom. They should still be exposed to the material. My sister would have someone 7/8ths of the day help her with reading and writing. During the one class that was reading and writing intensive she received zero help. How are the teachers helping her by being the life support in most classes and letting her drown in the one? There has to be a better way. I believe in text that is appropriate to the readers capability. With the hope that this will improve the readers ability over time.

As far as assessments go, I believe in alternative assessments. Not only does this help the students be well rounded individuals on the knowledge, it also takes the high stakes pressure of the students. If a student has a couple weeks to work on something that is equivalent to one test, studies have found students do better at project based assessments. However, I would not solely have projects in my classroom. It is also my job to prepare all students for the SOL tests. So, in order to do this, I must assign SOL like tests. Again, it is all about the balance.

Authentic Assessment

I think this is an interesting thing to consider in any content area. What are we assessing when we test students? In this case we're really just testing their ability to read. While I am personally concerned that my students are well rounded, and that includes reading, as a science teacher I am more concerned that my students know the information from my classroom. If a students doesn't have the reading skills to complete a test, then the test is not an accurate assessment of their science knowledge.

Others have mentioned the importance of practical assessments such as lab activities, and I completely agree that they are a excellent way to assess a science student. Unfortunately a student's understanding of a scientific theory will likely be assessed with a test. Some modifications will need to made so the student is not at a disadvantage. Perhaps the student could be read the test, or the teacher could make a recording that the student could listen on headphones while taking the test while the rest of the class does. Another option is an oral exam, which will also eliminate the need for writing, which they likely also has difficulty with.

Some of the software we saw in the lab, such as Read Aloud, reads documents as it high lights the words. I would encourage a student to practice with such software to improve thier reading skills.

Reading Struggles

I think that it is very important to come up with alternative methods of assessment for the student in question. It is impossible for them to demonstrate their knowledge of the material if they can't even read your test. How can you assess their learning if you cannot get passed their reading difficulties?

I believe that the sciences are an area where authentic assessments and other, less reading focused alternatives are readily available and easy to use. It would definitely be possible to incorporate a project or a lab into the evaluative process more often if that was more effective. Another option would be having somebody read the test to them so that they no longer are required to read it. For that matter, you could have them dictate their answers as well if they also had difficulties with writing.

Assistive technologies are great in this situation because they allow the students to work independently. Give them a program that can dictate the test to them and another that recognizes their speech patterns. You could create a test that asks questions and shows a visual on the computer screen. It is also possible to create a test where they can read it on the computer and if they get stuck, they click a button to have the question read to them. This means that there is room for them to be successful on the test and they can work on improving their reading ability.

All told, science is about teaching the principles and theories. Reading is an important aspect of being successful in these fields in the future, but that is something that they need to learn in addition to what you are teaching them. As such, your objective should be what you assess and you cannot do that unless you come up with creative methods for accommodating their disability.

testing based on reading ability? wrong!

Reading is an essential part of life in not just america, but in all parts of the world. It's obviously been important enough for standardized tests to be made based on the ability to answer multiple choice questions and reading comp. But as a science teacher, I think just the mere ability to speak english or read is not quite as essential. Science, along with math, are more universal languages. Even if I have a student that struggles with the reading i think that students should be able to learn more through hands on learning than tests. Labs and group work are more essential than tests in my classroom.
In one of my other education classes, I learned that multiple choice questions are more of a recognition test. You don't even really have to know what you're answering or what the question is asking. As long as you can recognize key words and phrases, you're golden. Tests should not be tricky on purpose! why are you trying to fail your students? we as teachers need to be fair when it comes to tests for all types of students (though this is not an easy task).
But tests are important. We use them to know where our students stand and if they understand the material. So, since these assessments are so crucial, for our students that have a disability, these assistive learning technologies are great! being able to hear the question instead of reading it cuts out a lot of time for some students who have trouble with reading.

A sweet resource!

Hey everybody,

I just stumbled across this online earlier today and I thought it was pretty cool! It's a periodic table that allows you to highlight different characteristics about the elements and particular groups of elements. It's very well done and would be a great resource for science students who are learning the periodic table. Take a look at it and bookmark it if you want =D

http://www.ptable.com/

Best,

community collaboration

Community collaboration can be helpful because experts in the field might be able to add new information on research about the topic that have not come to your attention yet. As mentioned before, the collaboration projects are also very helpful. Especially if you are able to coordinate the collection of data with students around the country or world. This gives the students a chance to see how people from other places think, learn, and interact.

Especially with the mentor collaborations, it may be able to show the student that, if they have an ambition in the expert's field the students will be able to see that it is possible to be successful in something you enjoy.

I saw a paper on Google (unfortunately I could not open it because it required a subscription) entitled: Community Collaboration: If it is such a good idea, why is it so hard to do? by Julie White and Gary Wahlage. The beginning of the paper talked about how community collaboration is hard to carry out on a large scale but that it might be beneficial to schools and outside programs because they can then share the economic responsibilities for programs.

As mentioned before, safety is an issue and as Dr. Parlo said, we should always make sure to get parental permission for online discussions with the expert. It is also sometimes difficult to find reputable people close to your school that transportation issues do not come up.

Everything's pretty much been said about outside collaboration, but...

I don't want to continue to repeat things that have been said, but I feel one thing that was not mentioned about the importance of outside collaboration is the introduction to new ideas. As humans, teachers may not explain something in a way everyone can understand, or may leave something they've taken for granted out. By allowing someone else to contribute to a lesson, then new ideas are introduced, new ways of presenting the information are shared, and new questions may be asked. Sometimes students chose not to like a teacher for whatever reason, but by giving the student a mentor/allowing that student to collaborate with someone else, the student does not have to completely blow off the subject and can still learn it.

Time is an issue and making sure students are getting the correct message are two possible setbacks.

Collaboration and Community

I feel that community collaboration can be a wonderful experience for everyone involved. Students have the opportunity to apply what they've learned in the classroom to real life situations. Most of the comments here have been about having people in the community come and speak to students. While I think it's a wonderful opportunity for students to met and interact with professionals and to hear why what we're trying to get them to learn is important, I don't think we can ignore the relevance of collaborative projects.

I think that allowing students to collect their own real world data is invaluable to their understanding of the scientific process. As James mentioned in his post, being able to dissect an owl pellet that you found is even better because you found it yourself. Being able to share the data you collected with other students allows students to feel connected to a larger community beyond their own class or school. Even if it's just to the high school across town, the connections formed help broaden their horizons.

However with any data found on the internet, data will need to be reviewed before used in any larger projects or before students draw conclusions based on it. But the need to review the data found online, can also provide a chance for students to learn about checking data, so perhaps it's not a drawback.

Collaboration!

What do you think the value of collaboration with the community outside your classroom would be? (feel free to scholar google it and refer to any research too....) Are there any draw backs? What considerations and concerns do you need to address when collaborating with the community?

I don't think there is any argument about the usefulness of real world collaboration. It is an amazingly effective tool for getting students interested because it makes the material real to them. Whether it is a French pen pal in french class or a presentation by a world war II veteran in history, these experiences will really have an impact on the students. I believe strongly that a huge amount of learning takes place outside the classroom and that we need to try our best to incorporate that style or type of learning into the schooling process.

I also think that having students interact with their immediate community, not just the distant "world community", is extremely important because it helps them to establish connections to things that they encounter on a regular basis. Creating these connections helps the students to elaborate on the ideas in class and it enables them to see real applications for their newly learned skills or knowledge. I know that some of my favorite science field trips were just to the local graveyard because there was a family of Great Horned Owls that lived there. We got to watch the chicks grow, learn to fly, and leave the nest. We also got to collect owl pellets and dissect them. If you want to see a group of excited 6th graders, have them dissect something that they have gone out and found in the woods nearby. I will never forget how much I enjoyed that!

Anyways, I am getting off topic. There are so many pros to collaboration in all of its forms that it is sometimes easy to forget that there are concerns to be considered as well. Like I said in my comment, there are situations where collaboration is not helpful and there are situations where it may influence the students negatively. Making sure that you consider the impact and consequences is key to success. Speakers need to be positive, pen pals need to be applicable, and field trips need to be well planned. Any event, presentation, trip, or online project should be viewed or tried in advance.

Collaboration needs to be used in all classrooms, but it also is just a simple resource that has its limits. It should not be over used and it should not be something that is used instead of instruction.

Sorry if I rambled a little bit, but that's what I was thinking =D